


Ambush

by Mareel



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Batarians, Character Death, Cmdr. Liam Shepard, Coffee, F/M, Family, Family background, Gen, Grief and Loss, Pre-Canon, Spacer (Mass Effect), Teenage Shepard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 08:32:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14973242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mareel/pseuds/Mareel
Summary: Childhood's end





	Ambush

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place when John Shepard was fourteen years old, living on a space station with his mother while his father is deployed. It is Shepard's voice.
> 
> It is in canon with both my [Always](https://archiveofourown.org/series/223643) series and [Overture](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12485960), since John Shepard's spacer background and family are the same in both. 
> 
> And it is a prequel to [Legacy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13988136)

 

Maybe it's just station gossip.

Maybe the soldiers in the Mess Hall – the ones I overheard discussing the latest run-in with the batarians – didn't have all the information. But one thing seems clear: the Alliance cruiser _SSV Hyderabad_ was attacked by batarian slavers. And one of the frigates attached to the _Hyderabad_ had been destroyed in an ambush... either the _Antwerp_ or the _Culloden_. No one seems certain which one was lost.

It matters to me. A lot. My dad commands the _Culloden_. Mom told me a few weeks ago that Dad had been given a field command after a medical emergency required evacuating the _Culloden's_ captain to an Alliance hospital. Dad didn't get a field promotion to captain, but he was given command of the ship nonetheless.

I was so proud of him when she told me about that. Having his own command… 

Now Mom’s not saying anything, just sitting tight-lipped at a desk piled high with reports she’s not really reading. And startling a little every time the comm buzzes. Finally, I can’t take it any more and ask if there’s any news about Dad. 

“I'm not a kid, Mom. He's my father... I deserve to know.”

“Nothing yet, John. You should try to get some sleep. I’ll let you know.”

It’s her 'don’t make me insist' voice, but for once it doesn’t work. “Let me stay up and watch with you, okay? Just ‘til there’s news…”

She pushes her chair back from the desk, and rubs at the back of her neck. With a squeeze of my shoulder, she heads for the little galley in our quarters. “I’m going to need a fresh pot of coffee for this. Can I make you some hot chocolate?”

I start to say yes, but suddenly change my mind. “I’m not a kid, Mom. I’ll just have a cup of coffee, too.”

The look she gives me is a little hard to read, but she doesn’t argue about it as I follow her to the galley. It doesn’t take long. She could probably make coffee in her sleep. I’ve watched her add sugar and creamer to her own cup enough times to copy the procedure with mine. Dad likes his black, but I remember Mom teasing him about having an iron belly for drinking it that way.

Pushing my game controller out of the way to clear some space on the low table, I wait 'til she’s settled next to me on the couch before tasting the coffee. It’s hot, but nearly burning my mouth isn’t what makes me cough and sputter. Gah! So bitter! I had no idea. I manage to swallow that one sip, but there’s no way I’m drinking any more of this stuff. Ever. 

“Not everyone likes it.”

That’s all she says, but she gets up and goes back to the galley. When she returns a few minutes later, Mom silently replaces my coffee cup with a pot of hot chocolate. But she brings a pair of standard Alliance logo mugs instead of my old favorite Blasto one. 

I start to mumble a thank you, but she shakes her head and says the hot cocoa is smelling good to her tonight, too. 

______________________________

It’s a long night. 

She doesn’t read her reports, and I get stuck repeatedly on the same low level of a game I’ve beaten long ago. 

The news, when it comes, is grim – the _Culloden_ destroyed, with only a few survivor pods picked up by the _Antwerp_. I didn’t need to ask - I knew what Dad’s duty would have been. 

Her hands are shaking as she rereads the message on the pad. I’ve never heard such cold anger in her voice. “Those batarian bastards shot at the unarmed escape pods!”

She doesn’t speak any more of it except to whisper as she wraps her arms around me. “He was able to save a few of them at least…” Her eyes are wet, but she blinks the tears away silently. 

I try not to think of Dad’s final orders, his last moments... but I can’t put them out of my mind. It’s the responsibility that goes with the uniform, 

I’ll always be proud of him.

 

**Author's Note:**

> On a personal note, my apologies for just getting this posted. I honestly thought I had done so quite awhile ago, but it never happened. Shepard refers to this night at several points in stories about his later life, so I'm glad he can finally provide some details.


End file.
